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ut it’s not that easy really, is it? It would be fair to say that the big banks have
suffered a very severe hammering reputation-wise. Many people have been
left feeling disgusted at what they perceive to be cavalier investment practices,
"extravagant spending, exorbitant salaries and massive bonuses. Not to mention
the illegal practices of some such as the rigging of LIBOR and money-laundering
scandals. T en there are the recent events in Cyprus which have further damaged people’s
confidence in banks.
But if not banks, then where do you put your money and who can you save with?
T ere’s ye olde banke of mattress which obviously has a few drawbacks, but incredibly
has been bandied about more and more recently as a viable option – and not always
with tongue firmly-in-cheek! T en there’s gold, silver, platinum, potash, pine forests, salt
mines, boats, planes, trains, automobiles, bricks and mortar, number seven in the three-
thirty at Sandown, Facebook shares, your brother-in-law’s amazing idea for a business, art,
antiques, fine wine… basically anything and everything, and of course nothing is certain
or sure.
However 13,000 of your fellow police officers and police staff and their families have
chosen to save or invest their money with something that’s kind of like a bank – but
crucially, isn’t a bank.
It’s a mutual society specifically set up to serve the needs of the police service members
and their families. It’s called metfriendly and has been in business for over 100 years. And
what is its business? Well, it has a rather complicated business model. It takes people’s
money, looks after it for a bit, grows it… and then… here’s the radical bit… gives it back
to them! In all seriousness, it is a simple financial institution with a very simple aim – to
look after its members.
As a mutual it has no shareholders, it has no staff ‘incentivised’ or paid to push
unwanted products at people – it has no agenda other than to act in the best interests of
its ‘customers’, who automatically become members of the society and are therefore also
its owners. Metfriendly doesn’t offer instant withdrawals, current accounts, branches or
ATMs and isn’t designed for short-term savings. However it does offer simple, regular
savings and investment products, as well as life insurance and income protection. It
follows sustainable, prudent, long-term investment strategies designed to give all its
members a fair return on their money.
Of course like everything in life nothing is certain and in finance past performance is
not automatically indicative of future performance. But if you’re a bit tired of the banking
shenanigans and can’t choose between number seven at the Sandown three-thirty, a big
pile of gold, or your brother-in-law’s brilliant idea for a chain of pubs in Saudi Arabia,
then take a look at metfriendly. You’ll find everything you need to know at
www.metfriendly.org.uk ■